Four people have been killed in fresh Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said. Three Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike in the northern part of the strip, reports said. In the southern village of Abassan, a woman was shot dead outside her home, doctors said. Israel's army confirmed the air strike but not the shooting. Israel has been carrying out operations since June, when militants linked to Hamas captured an Israeli soldier. Israel says it is trying to find its soldier, Cpl Gilad Shalit, and stop rocket attacks. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the operations. Gaza residents said the past few days had seen the biggest upsurge in Palestinian-Israeli violence for weeks... http://news.bbc.co.uk

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has accused the US of promoting sectarian strife in Iraq. Speaking at Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Khamenei said it was US policy to pit Sunni Muslims against Shias "to sow pessimism". Iraq has been torn by sectarian violence since the bombing of a revered Shia shrine in February. The US accuses Iran of supporting Shia insurgents in Iraq, an accusation Tehran has denied. In a speech broadcast live on television, Ayatollah Khamenei said: "Making Sunnis and Shias suspicious of one another... is the policy of the Americans in Iraq. "Our Iraqi brothers need to stand united... and beware that the enemy plans to turn people against the people." The US has accused Iran of funding Shia insurgents to infiltrate Iraq. Iran says it has no interest in creating instability in its neighbour...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6048700.stm

A rare early October snowstorm left parts of the Great Lakes and Midwest blanketed with 2 feet of snow Friday morning, prompting widespread blackouts, closing schools and halting traffic. The snow downed scores of tree limbs and toppled power lines, leaving more than 220,000 customers without electricity in western New York. By early Friday, 14 inches of snow had been recorded at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, with reports of 2 feet elsewhere, said Tom Paone, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The snowfall was expected to continue throughout the morning, he said. ‘Extremely rare event’ On Thursday, 8.3 inches of heavy snow set the record for the “snowiest” October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the weather service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. The previous record of 6 inches was set Oct. 31, 1917....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15247114/

The head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, this afternoon insisted the UK will not "surrender" in Iraq - despite calling for troops to be pulled out "sometime soon".Britain's most senior soldier sparked a storm with an interview in which he said the presence of coalition forces was "exacerbating" the problems there.It was seen as an unprecedented attack on government policy and forced the general, who took up the job just six weeks ago, into denying there was any rift with Tony Blair's foreign policy.In a statement , he said: "I'm a soldier - we don't do surrender, we don't pull down white flags. We will remain in southern Iraq until the job is done - we're going to see this through."Downing Street has said Sir Richard retains the "full support" of Tony Blair despite the furore over his article in the Daily Mail....http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1921633,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Thousands of Iraqis are fleeing the country every day in a “steady, silent exodus” and a spike in sectarian violence has stopped others from returning to their homeland, the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday.More than 50,000 exiled Iraqis returned from neighboring countries last year in the hope that calm might return after the country’s first post-war elections in January 2005.That number has fallen to 1,000 this year. “Far more are leaving,” Ron Redmond, chief spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva.“Many of them are moving on to other countries in what could be termed a steady, silent exodus.”...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15247511/

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wants the Israeli government to explain restrictions on Palestinian-Americans traveling on U.S. passports in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the State Department said yesterday. "This was brought to the attention of the secretary, and it's something that she's looking into and she's going to raise with Israeli officials," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. "There is more than a handful of these cases, and it's something that has got our attention. Talking about American citizens here." Miss Rice raised the issue in a speech to the American Task Force on Palestine on Wednesday evening. "I realize that the continuing problems of security are also a great challenge for many Palestinian-Americans living in Gaza and the West Bank -- and for so many others, including many of you, who travel there often, who work for greater tolerance and understanding, and ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20061012-113901-2951r.htm